Germany released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: German ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), English ( Subtitles ), German ( Subtitles ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (2.35:1),...... more

Germany released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: German ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), English ( Subtitles ), German ( Subtitles ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (2.35:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Alternative Footage, Commentary, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, Teaser(s), Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: A super-slick crowdpleaser with peachy roles for German comedian Rick Kavanian and young actress Nora Tschirner, hitman comedy-romance "Killing Is My Business, Honey" looks set to do just that at Teuton wickets. With (sadly) no proven market offshore for mainstream German comedies, an English-language remake seems the most profitable course for this "Pink Panther"-ish romp, which would translate easily to a Stateside setting. Following its world preem in Berlin Feb. 19, the film goes wide in Deutschland Feb. 26. Kavanian is known locally as one of Michael "Bully" Herbig's associates in a string of successful parodies (Western spoof "Manitou's Shoe," "Star Trek" riff "Dreamship Surprise: Period One"). Tschirner broke through bigtime as the klutzy heroine of Til Schweiger's 2008 B.O. champ, "Rabbit Without Ears," and again proves here she's one of Germany's hottest young discoveries. The picture's '60s-ish, retro feel is underlined by bright, animated main titles (designed by Lutz Lemke) and a soundtrack packed with cocktail-lounge classics by Dean Martin (like "That's Amore"). From the beginning, there's a sense of workmanship at the highest level, from the tight script by Dirk Ahner ("7 Days to Live") and helmer Sebastian Niemann ("Over My Dead Body"), through the glossy lensing by Gerhard Schirlo, to Matthias Muesse's production design, recalling the Universal studio look of the late '50s/early '60s. With a nifty goatee, Kavanian plays professional hitman Toni Ricardelli, who simply loves telling people about his job ("good money, flexible hours, ple...Killing Is My Business, Honey ( Mord ist mein Geschäft, Liebling )

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Leave it to New Zealand director Jane Campion (The Piano, Angel at My Table) to begin an adaptation of Henry James's great novel (set in the...... more

Leave it to New Zealand director Jane Campion (The Piano, Angel at My Table) to begin an adaptation of Henry James's great novel (set in the late 1800s) with a group of late-20th-century women from Down Under talking about the importance of a kiss. Like any good film adaptation (and it's a very good one, indeed), this exquisitely framed and mounted Portrait of a Lady is at least as much Campion as it is James. The story of strong-willed, independent-minded Isabel Archer (Nicole Kidman, whose skin here is photographed like delicate porcelain) is a tricky one to dramatise, since it's largely about good intentions going awry, roads not taken, misguided decisions made for good reasons. Headstrong American orphan Isabel rejects the proposal of a decent, sensible English suitor, Lord Warburton (Richard E. Grant), because she wants to find her own destiny and identity first. Instead, she is seduced by Gilbert Osmond (John Malkovich), an effete collector of art (and women) whom one character describes as a "sterile dilettante". How Isabel's life, and the lives of those who love her, are affected by this fateful (but irreversible?) decision is what the bulk of the film is about. Portrait of a Lady is lovely, heartbreaking, and at times terrifying--as only coming face-to-face with the consequences of one's own life-changing decisions can be. --Jim Emerson

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The heart of the East End has always been Tower Hamlets; Gilda O'Neill is enough of a partisan to regard even Hackney as a bit out of bounds....... more

The heart of the East End has always been Tower Hamlets; Gilda O'Neill is enough of a partisan to regard even Hackney as a bit out of bounds. My East End starts with the earliest times--the East of London has always been where dirty industry congregated, downstream from the Court and Parliament, and it has always been where incomers started, from Flemings in the Middle Ages to Bengalis today. The greater part of this excellent book, though, is not a competent academic run through of the sources, but an invaluable collection of oral history, in which pensioners talk about the classic East End of late Victorian times and the inter-war period, a time when grinding poverty could just about be survived with luck, when people were forced to live in each other's pockets and children played around the open door of their homes until all hours: "There was always a jigsaw on the go and everyone that called had a go at putting some pieces in. Nanny usually came round on Friday nights and always brought a bag of sweets--winter warmers--and, as she was going home, she would call out 'Goodnight, kidlets'. I said that when I grew up I would go out singing in the streets and buy her a pair of blue bloomers." O'Neill is fascinating about both the positive and negative sides of a way of life that went forever when families were moved out to housing estates on the fringes of London and about the parts of it that have survived into a new multi-cultural East End; My East End is a good book because it has an unsnobbish respect for the voices it draws on. --Roz Kaveney

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Leave it to New Zealand director Jane Campion (The Piano, Angel at My Table) to begin an adaptation of Henry James's great novel (set in the...... more

Leave it to New Zealand director Jane Campion (The Piano, Angel at My Table) to begin an adaptation of Henry James's great novel (set in the late 1800s) with a group of late-20th-century women from Down Under talking about the importance of a kiss. Like any good film adaptation (and it's a very good one, indeed), this exquisitely framed and mounted Portrait of a Lady is at least as much Campion as it is James. The story of strong-willed, independent-minded Isabel Archer (Nicole Kidman, whose skin here is photographed like delicate porcelain) is a tricky one to dramatise, since it's largely about good intentions going awry, roads not taken, misguided decisions made for good reasons. Headstrong American orphan Isabel rejects the proposal of a decent, sensible English suitor, Lord Warburton (Richard E. Grant), because she wants to find her own destiny and identity first. Instead, she is seduced by Gilbert Osmond (John Malkovich), an effete collector of art (and women) whom one character describes as a "sterile dilettante". How Isabel's life, and the lives of those who love her, are affected by this fateful (but irreversible?) decision is what the bulk of the film is about. Portrait of a Lady is lovely, heartbreaking, and at times terrifying--as only coming face-to-face with the consequences of one's own life-changing decisions can be. --Jim Emerson

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Leave it to New Zealand director Jane Campion (The Piano, Angel at My Table) to begin an adaptation of Henry James's great novel (set in the...... more

Leave it to New Zealand director Jane Campion (The Piano, Angel at My Table) to begin an adaptation of Henry James's great novel (set in the late 1800s) with a group of late-20th-century women from Down Under talking about the importance of a kiss. Like any good film adaptation (and it's a very good one, indeed), this exquisitely framed and mounted Portrait of a Lady is at least as much Campion as it is James. The story of strong-willed, independent-minded Isabel Archer (Nicole Kidman, whose skin here is photographed like delicate porcelain) is a tricky one to dramatise, since it's largely about good intentions going awry, roads not taken, misguided decisions made for good reasons. Headstrong American orphan Isabel rejects the proposal of a decent, sensible English suitor, Lord Warburton (Richard E. Grant), because she wants to find her own destiny and identity first. Instead, she is seduced by Gilbert Osmond (John Malkovich), an effete collector of art (and women) whom one character describes as a "sterile dilettante". How Isabel's life, and the lives of those who love her, are affected by this fateful (but irreversible?) decision is what the bulk of the film is about. Portrait of a Lady is lovely, heartbreaking, and at times terrifying--as only coming face-to-face with the consequences of one's own life-changing decisions can be. --Jim Emerson

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Thanks to continuous breeding work striving for a better, sweeter flavour, this modern hybrid has a superb flavour that sets it apart from other varieties....... more

Thanks to continuous breeding work striving for a better, sweeter flavour, this modern hybrid has a superb flavour that sets it apart from other varieties. Brussels Sprout 'Trafalgar' produces a heavy crop of medium sized, firm button sprouts from mid December to late March that will retain their excellent quality over a long period of time. Height: 75cm (30"). Spread: 50cm (20"). Please note: Delivery is subject to plant size, and adverse growing conditions during production may delay despatch schedules. Andrew Tokely says: "For the past 10 years this has been the only variety of Brussels Sprout that I have grown on my plots. The strong plants produce good size buttons and will stand well though all weathers well past Christmas.Their sweet flavour means sprouts can now be enjoyed by all the family."

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Before there was "let it go", there was "let it out and let it in" as Jude was urged to begin to know what love was. It is impossible to read any of...... more

Before there was "let it go", there was "let it out and let it in" as Jude was urged to begin to know what love was. It is impossible to read any of Paul McCartney's lyrics without hearing the Beatles' musical refrain as it takes over the lines, dictating rhythm, pace and mood. In Blackbird Singing, his first poetry collection, early and later poems are brought together with some of his finest lyrics, including pop classics such as "Yesterday", "Lady Madonna" and "My Love". Lyrics such as "The Long and Winding Road" retain their poignancy on paper, while others resist being presented as verse and appear banal or trite: "Heart of the Country" and "Mull of Kintyre" teeter on the edge of embarrassment. One may feel that "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" seems naked and frail without the rousing brass section. The collection is fondly edited by populist poet and fellow Liverpudlian Adrian Mitchell who pleads that readers clean out their heads, "wash out the name and the fame" and read what's here. "Dinner Tickets", a poem written about childhood and being caught with a sexy drawing of a female nude in his pocket allows McCartney's deeper vulnerability to slip through. "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window" shows off the wordplay McCartney favours--clever, simple and effective: "Sunday's on the phone to Monday,/ Tuesday's on the phone to me." The later poems reveal a more mature, sincere voice, distant from the quirky catching rhymes of "Ob-la-di Ob-la-da". "Standing Stone" unravels a strong, gutsy fable about a man using the power of imagination to fend off the enemy: He erects a standing stone, "a weathered finger to the sky" and learns to be "at peace with peace", watching a "blue sky laced with tight white webs;/ fields of high rye tickled skylarks,/ levitating stars." "Irish Language" boasts a rare streak of irony as the narrator admires the way "those Irish chappies" swill the language round their mouths and dribble it through their fingers, ending with the beautifully timed punch line: "The Beatles were a bunch of Micks". The book closes with poems dedicated to his late wife which are tender, sparse and reach for a startling honesty: "clenched inside a glovewe sucked each other's energy--Cherry Smyth

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If this were your first exposure to Eric Clapton, a bit of bewilderment would be in order. This is the legendary guitar icon? This is (as his...... more

If this were your first exposure to Eric Clapton, a bit of bewilderment would be in order. This is the legendary guitar icon? This is (as his early apostles once proclaimed) God? Ranging from the mid-'80s through the late '90s, The Clapton Chronicles owes less to the groundbreaking blues-rock of Clapton's '60s and '70s classics than to the polished-to-a-glare pop of Phil Collins, who produced one of the tracks included in this 14-song anthology. His reinterpretation of his greatest recording--the once-gripping, now-placid "Layla"--perhaps best illustrates Clapton at middle-age: Who wants to bask in his darkest period? Not Clapton, who converts his surging, purging charge into a soothing stroll. And perhaps not fans of such docile MOR fare as "My Father's Eyes," "Tears in Heaven," and the two new tracks, "Blue Eyes Blue" and "Get Lost." --Steven Stolder

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Between her late 1980s reign as the "I Should Be So Lucky" Aussi soap star turned pop princess and her iconic re-emergence heralded by No.1 "Spinning...... more

Between her late 1980s reign as the "I Should Be So Lucky" Aussi soap star turned pop princess and her iconic re-emergence heralded by No.1 "Spinning Around" and Robbie Williams Duet "Kids", Kylie Minogue had an altogether different kind of pop career. In the mid-1990s the miniature star released two, very grown-up and exquisitely sophisticated albums, both simply titled Kylie Minogue, for the now defunct dance label Deconstruction. It is the best tracks from that period, plus a handful of previously unreleased songs and remixes that fill Hits. Although the title's somewhat misleading, given that the albums from which the tracks come were deemed commercial flops, it's not overstating things to say that in "Breathe", "Did It Again" and "Automatic Love", this collection contains some of the most stylishly executed pop the UK has ever heard. But it's haunting singles "Confide In Me", "Put Yourself In My Place" and Nick Cave duet "Where The Wild Roses Grow", graced by the sumptuously breathy vocals that transformed cute-bubblegum-pop-Kylie into a pop seductress and institution, that are the jewels of this retrospective and her career, and prime examples of just how exhilarating pop can be. --Dan Gennoe

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1-Cincinatti Fireball 2-Love Me 3-Settin' The Woods On Fire 4-A Lover's Question 5-That's The Way I Feel 6-Don't Do It 7-Love Kept A-Rollin' 8-That's All I Care...... more

1-Cincinatti Fireball 2-Love Me 3-Settin' The Woods On Fire 4-A Lover's Question 5-That's The Way I Feel 6-Don't Do It 7-Love Kept A-Rollin' 8-That's All I Care 9-Honey Tree 10-My Destiny 11-Speak No Evil 12-Little Miss Shy 13-Green Hills 14-Lonely Island 15-I'll Give You Three Guesses 16-All Week Long 17-It Isn't There 18-Congratulations, You've Hurt Me Again (ver.1) 19-Walkin' Talkin' Doll 20-You Taught Me The Way To Love You 21-The Opposite 22-The Corner Of Heartache And Despair 23-Aunt Marie 24-Two Feet In Front Of Me 25-If I Were An Artist 26-And Her Name Is Scarlett 27-I Think She Knows 28-Sweet Suzie 29-Skipping School 30-It All Depends On Linda 31-Congratulations, You've Hurt Me Again (ver.2) 32-Interview The second compilation contains recordings made during the late 1950s /early 1960s, which was the most successful period of Johnny's career. The bulk of the tracks featured are the lesser known 'Capitol' recordings, with a number of titles not issued before. Several demos by Johnny & Dorsey are released on CD for the first time.

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The twist of this private-eye show is that in the first episode, gumshoe Marty Hopkirk (Kenneth Cope) is killed off by the villains,...... more

The twist of this private-eye show is that in the first episode, gumshoe Marty Hopkirk (Kenneth Cope) is killed off by the villains, subsequently popping up in an immaculate white suit as a ghost visible only to his hardboiled partner Jeff Randall (Mike Pratt). In theory, the supernatural streak--which meant a complex set of rules about Marty's appearances and effects on the physical world--should lead the show into wilder territory, but most episodes squander the team's unique abilities on ordinary cases about blackmail and murder-for-profit. A persistent subplot has the living Jeff getting cosy with the dead Marty's widow Jean (Annette Andre) to the discomfort of her late husband. The elementary effects and the nice underplaying of the leads have a certain period charm, and the show could afford a high calibre of special guest villains and dolly birds. A recent remake with Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer hasn't obliterated memories of the original. This disc contains episodes one and two: "My Late Lamented Friend and Partner" and "A Disturbing Case". --Kim Newman

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On the basis that there can never be enough records inspired by late-period Triffids, Consent is unequivocally a good thing. The Devlins...... more

On the basis that there can never be enough records inspired by late-period Triffids, Consent is unequivocally a good thing. The Devlins share the interest in bringing electronica to bear on torch ballads that the criminally under-rated Triffids were pursuing circa The Black Swan: drum-machines clatter incongruously behind acoustic strings, while the words lunge unabashedly at the big ideas. It would also seem safe to assume that The Devlins' record collections contain substantial quantities of works by Tindersticks, Mojave 3, the Blue Nile and Leonard Cohen. The bad news is that while frontman Colin Devlin clearly doesn't lack self-confidence, he doesn't possess Triffids singer David McComb's reserves of baritone grandeur. But Devlin is nonetheless an impassioned and often affecting singer, the more so for railing so passionately against his own limitations. He's no slouch as a songwriter either: the description of the subject of the gorgeous ballad "Snowbirds" as "My Joan of Arc / from the trailer park" is just about worth the price on its own. --Andrew Mueller

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This book, the first of a number of volumes covering the railways of South Wales, appears as part of the popular and growing Images series featuring photographs...... more

This book, the first of a number of volumes covering the railways of South Wales, appears as part of the popular and growing Images series featuring photographs from the collection of Maurice Dart, Cornwall-based photographer and author. Here are rare photographs, the majority of them taken by the author, of the lines which served ports and local communities around Cardiff, Newport and their hinterland. Each photograph is accompanied by the author's own text, often with unique reminiscences of this important part of the railway system in Wales. The author writes: The photos in this album have been selected from my collection of many thousands of railway scenes. Together they present an overall view of many of the types of locomotives which have worked in the area since late in the nineteenth century. Along with the engines much of what is nowadays termed 'railway infrastructure' is included in the photos together with a varied selection of rolling stock. I have attempted to include as wide a variety of locations as possible to cover the locomotive scene on the main line, on branch lines, in goods yards and at locomotive sheds. Industrial Railways feature in the last part of the book. It is hoped that the book will appeal not only to railway enthusiasts but also to readers seeking photos of local areas. The detail contained in many of the photos may be of assistance to railway modellers of certain periods. I hope that this collection of photos will help to recall the magic and nostalgia that the sight of working steam locomotives induces in many people. Here for the first time is a comprehensive look at an important part of this unique collection - a book that will become a classic of South Wales steam.

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If this were your first exposure to Eric Clapton, a bit of bewilderment would be in order. This is the legendary guitar icon? This is (as his...... more

If this were your first exposure to Eric Clapton, a bit of bewilderment would be in order. This is the legendary guitar icon? This is (as his early apostles once proclaimed) God? Ranging from the mid-'80s through the late '90s, The Clapton Chronicles owes less to the groundbreaking blues-rock of Clapton's '60s and '70s classics than to the polished-to-a-glare pop of Phil Collins, who produced one of the tracks included in this 14-song anthology. His reinterpretation of his greatest recording--the once-gripping, now-placid "Layla"--perhaps best illustrates Clapton at middle-age: Who wants to bask in his darkest period? Not Clapton, who converts his surging, purging charge into a soothing stroll. And perhaps not fans of such docile MOR fare as "My Father's Eyes," "Tears in Heaven," and the two new tracks, "Blue Eyes Blue" and "Get Lost." --Steven Stolder

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About the Author ~ Sadie JonesSadie Jones was born in London. She grew up in a creative environment: her father is the Jamaican poet and screenwriter...... more

About the Author ~ Sadie JonesSadie Jones was born in London. She grew up in a creative environment: her father is the Jamaican poet and screenwriter Evan Jones, and her mother was an actress. As her friends took up their various university places, Sadie worked in a variety of jobs. After travelling, she settled in London and spent several years as a screenwriter, before writing her first novel, The Outcast. Sadie is married and has two children.Exclusive Amazon.co.uk Interview with Sadie JonesWhat is The Outcast about?The Outcast is about a boy called Lewis - his childhood and adolescence as he grows up in the stultifying world of the home counties in the late forties and fifties. It is an everyday tale of drunkenness, violence and a fair amount of sex, set amongst the well-brought-up professional classes. It is also a love story.What inspired you to write it?The idea of a boy coming out of prison and trying to fit into a community that is itself corrupt was the first thing that came to me. I wanted to write an Oedipal story, with iconic characters, about what the nature of what it is to belong, and injustice. I set it in the fifties because I have always been very attracted to the books and films of that time.Who are your literary influences?Its difficult to think in terms of being influenced, because when you write you try to find your own voice and forget those of other writers, but I must in some way be a product of books Ive loved. My favourite writers are Hemingway, Capote, Salinger, McEwan and Dostoyevsky.If you could recommend just one "must-read book" to anyone, what would it be and why?It would be The Brothers Karamazov, by Dostoyevsky, because it is a book that tells a riveting story and is profoundly insightful about human nature. Dostoyevsky has an undeserved reputation of being sort of turgid, but nothing could be further from the truth of this book. He relishes the events he discloses and has no prissiness he gets in the mud with his characters. What top tips do you have for anyone looking to write their first book?Its very hard; I only know what works for me, which is planning, structure and hard work. I have found that whenever I write thinking Ill sort some lingering doubt out later, I generally run into trouble. If you cant answer every single question about your story, then people will be able to tell. Also, try not to get too tied up in whether or not its any good, or what will happen to it when its finished all of that can be paralysing. Reviews for The OutcastAn assured voice, a riveting story, and an odd, wrenchingly sympathetic protagonist. I would never have imagined this was a first novel.Lionel ShriverIn the tradition of ATONEMENT and REMAINS OF THE DAY but in her own singularly arresting voice, Sadie Jones conjures up the straight-laced, church-going, secretly abusive middle class of 1950s England. The Outcast is a passionate and deeply suspenseful novel about what happens to those who break the rules, and what happens to those who keep them. I loved reading this wonderful debut. Margot LiveseyI much admired The Outcast. Sadie Jones tells her story using minute details to convey the apparent ordinariness of her characters' lives. But from the choreography of these walking, smiling, drinking people, from their emotional repression and their children's deprivation, she conjures an atmosphere of menace and suspense that erupts into violence and tragedy. It is an impressive debut for this talented new novelist. Michael HolroydSadie Jones is an important new voice. She writes in beautiful prose of terrible events, demonstrating how love denied brings brutal consequences. She conjures the repressive social climate of the 1950s with awful accuracy, and explores the hearts and minds of young people with forensic skill. A great stylist and fine storyteller.Joan BakewellOne of Radio 4s Book at Bedtime reads for February, Jones story is imbued with brooding atmosphere and drama. Understated and elegantly narrated with attention to period detail, this is a gripping love story with a twist. If you liked Atonement by Ian McEwan, youll love this. Harpers Bazaar (Feb issue)A wonderfully assured first novel. GuardianThe prose is elegant and spare, but the story it reveals is raw and explosive Devastatingly good. Daily MailThe Outcast grips from page one Jones has captured the stultifying morals and mores of Fifties English middle-class life with satisfying accuracy. Publishing NewsSet in post WWII suburban London, this superb debut novel charts the downward spiral and tortured redemption of a young man shattered by loss. The war is over, and Lewis Aldridge is getting used to having his father, Gilbert, back in the house. Things hum along splendidly until Lewiss mother drowns, casting the 10-year-old into deep isolationJoness prose is fluid, and Lewiss suffering comes across as achingly real. Publishers WeeklyA confident, suspenseful and affecting first novel, delivered in cool, precise, distinctive prose. Kirkus

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Geranium sanguineum 'Vision Light Pink' Full hardy perennial which is great for sun, semi-shade. Attractive cut green foliage which turn red in autumn...... more

Geranium sanguineum 'Vision Light Pink' Full hardy perennial which is great for sun, semi-shade. Attractive cut green foliage which turn red in autumn and saucer shaped deep veined red, pale pink flowers cover the plant from late spring onwards. Low growing at 30cms to 40cms in height so is great for the front of any border, rock gardens, seaside garden. These are from my own woodland garden and have been potted up (9cm pot) when dug up and split to replant. 1 plant will be sent without its pot. Please take a peek at my other items all are from my own woodland/wildlife garden. Photo it for illustration purposes only to show plant in flowering period.

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ALCHEMILLA MOLLIS, Lady's Mantle AGM award of garden merit. Full hardy woodland perennial which is brilliant for full sun, full shade, damp or dry. ...... more

ALCHEMILLA MOLLIS, Lady's Mantle AGM award of garden merit. Full hardy woodland perennial which is brilliant for full sun, full shade, damp or dry. Ground covering, shade loving, cottage garden/woodland. Frothy lime-green flowers with neatly pleated apple-green leaves. Flowers late spring early summer onwards and will grow in any soil, even good for dry shade so looks brilliant when planted under trees. Grows to around 60cm x 75cm. These are from my own woodland garden and have been potted up (9cm pot) when dug up and split to replant. 1 plant will be sent without its pot. Please take a peek at my other items all are from my own woodland/wildlife garden. Photos are for illustration purposes only to show plant in flowering period

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Far more fun than the eighties actually were at the time, the second album from Melbournes Cut Copy, In Ghost Colours, is one of the slickest and most...... more

Far more fun than the eighties actually were at the time, the second album from Melbournes Cut Copy, In Ghost Colours, is one of the slickest and most varied reinterpretations of the era to appear in the last five years. Selective nostalgia means that every sound from the past is open to reappraisal and Cut Copy have moved on from the sometimes slavish devotion to New Order that dominated their first album, 2004s enjoyably familiar Bright Like Neon Love. By comparison In Ghost Colours is nearer to the dense pop of Electronic, Johnny Marr and Bernard Sumners often overlooked collaboration, especially the brash, acoustic guitar driven opener "Feel The Love" and the brash "Lights and Music". But on tunes like the lush "Hearts On Fire" and the more abrasive "So Haunted", Dan Whitford and crew also nod to the experimental pop of the Cure and Depeche Mode and the now familiar sonic attack that My Bloody Valentine originated (and Snow Patrol eventually turned into pop). Less obviously, late period ELO, increasingly adored by studio head, prove to be an influence. The producer here is none other than DFAs Tim Goldsworthy, and though Cut Copy are far from the bittersweet hedonism of his other recent clients Hercules And Love Affair, In Ghost Colours works both as contemporary dance-rock and, edited without gaps, as a complete album.--Steve Jelbert

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A continent in a box? Well, a vivid taste of one: The Rough Guides to Africa--repackaging four of their previous compilations--will certainly reinforce this...... more

A continent in a box? Well, a vivid taste of one: The Rough Guides to Africa--repackaging four of their previous compilations--will certainly reinforce this label's market dominance. So a big hand for the Rough Guide to Congolese Soukous, and those to Senegal & Gambia and South Africa: the fourth CD--the Rough Guides Collection--is a canny pointer to further Guides elsewhere. And while my own favourite Rough Guide compilations are excluded--Unwired: Africa and Mali & Guinea--the ones we have here are still superb. Senegal & Gambia may now be a known quantity--Cheikh Lo, Baaba Maal, Orchestra Baobab and Youssou N'Dour--the tracks are no less beguiling for that (and N'Dour's comes from his pre-Peter Gabriel heyday). But listen to Congolese Soukous and you'll find magical things which never made it to western stages: starting with the late great Franco, and moving on through a plethora of now-period bands specialising in tumbling guitar riffs, this disc is imbued with a gentle swing and discreet virtuosity unique to this part of Africa. Meanwhile South Africa reaches way back into the past--to Solomon Linda's mega-hit from the 1930s--and incorporates everyone from jazz-diva Miriam Makeba and reggae-king Lucky Dube to the chanting Boyoyo Boys and the Ladysmith Black Mambazo. It also points up how close South African jazz is to its American counterpart. And when you finally get round to listening to the Rough Guides Collection, you'll be pulled in a dozen directions more. --Michael Church

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A continent in a box? Well, a vivid taste of one: The Rough Guides to Africa--repackaging four of their previous compilations--will certainly reinforce this...... more

A continent in a box? Well, a vivid taste of one: The Rough Guides to Africa--repackaging four of their previous compilations--will certainly reinforce this label's market dominance. So a big hand for the Rough Guide to Congolese Soukous, and those to Senegal & Gambia and South Africa: the fourth CD--the Rough Guides Collection--is a canny pointer to further Guides elsewhere. And while my own favourite Rough Guide compilations are excluded--Unwired: Africa and Mali & Guinea--the ones we have here are still superb. Senegal & Gambia may now be a known quantity--Cheikh Lo, Baaba Maal, Orchestra Baobab and Youssou N'Dour--the tracks are no less beguiling for that (and N'Dour's comes from his pre-Peter Gabriel heyday). But listen to Congolese Soukous and you'll find magical things which never made it to western stages: starting with the late great Franco, and moving on through a plethora of now-period bands specialising in tumbling guitar riffs, this disc is imbued with a gentle swing and discreet virtuosity unique to this part of Africa. Meanwhile South Africa reaches way back into the past--to Solomon Linda's mega-hit from the 1930s--and incorporates everyone from jazz-diva Miriam Makeba and reggae-king Lucky Dube to the chanting Boyoyo Boys and the Ladysmith Black Mambazo. It also points up how close South African jazz is to its American counterpart. And when you finally get round to listening to the Rough Guides Collection, you'll be pulled in a dozen directions more. --Michael Church

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